


During the Night

by The_Forgotten_Nobody



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Alive Tadashi, Angst, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, One-Shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 23:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3429242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Forgotten_Nobody/pseuds/The_Forgotten_Nobody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots that all happen during the night.<br/>5. Hiro and Tadashi's first night at Aunt Cass' after the death of their parents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On A Stormy Night

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been needing to write some Big Hero 6 stuff since seeing the movie mostly just so I can pretend the whole Tadashi dying (seriously Disney, why?) didn't happen. I know it's slightly random that the one-shots all happen at night but that every idea that comes to me seems to be set then.

_Crash_

_Bang_

Hiro startled when another roar of thunder echoed through the room, a flash briefly illuminating it.  His heart pounded wildly against his chest and he groaned into his mattress.  Though his brain knew it was illogical to be afraid or the storm, that he was perfectly safe in his bed, it looked like his body hadn’t got the memo. 

In an effort to block the noise of the thunder and pounding rain, Hiro put his pillow over his face but the next crash that came proved it was ineffective.  He groaned again, just wanting the storm to be over already so he could get some damn sleep; though, if the reports were to be correct (which was getting to be a bit more often), then the storm was set to last all night. 

Maybe he should just give up on sleep and try and work.  Then again, manufacturing robotics was not the best thing to do with jittery hands and an unfocused mind, especially since he’d only had a few hours’ sleep the night before.  Perhaps if he just stuck to designs…

“Hey Hiro.”  Tadashi’s voice was quiet and Hiro just managed to hear him.  He was surprised Tadashi was awake.  Usually, his brother managed to sleep through anything, which was good when Hiro stayed up too late at his desk.  Hiro was pretty sure Tadashi wouldn’t like to know how often that happened. 

“Yeah Tadashi?” 

“…How you doing?” 

Hiro only just managed to hold in a moan of despair.  Tadashi had his ‘concerned big brother’ voice on and that was the last thing Hiro needed.  It was fine to be afraid of storms when you were five but now?  It was just embarrassing, especially being called up on it. 

“Fine Tadashi, go back to sleep.”  Hiro put the pillow on his face again.  Maybe that would stop Tadashi going for a ‘brotherly bonding moment’. 

“Eh, I’m not that tired.”  Just as he said the words, Hiro heard his brother let out a huge yawn that had him rolling his eyes.  Sure, he was _totally_ not tired. 

“I’m fine,” he repeated, though the statement became particularly untrue when another boom of thunder rang and Hiro nearly fell out of the bed with how much he jumped.  His breath came out in quick gasps and he was thankful the pillow was still there to muffle them.  Man, he hated storms.

“You know…my bed always has some space if you…”

“No!”  Hiro cut Tadashi off before he could finish.  There was no way he was sleeping in his brother’s bed.  He was fourteen years old!  Was Tadashi so old that he didn’t understand how not cool that was?  

“Hey, I was just offering; I know you don’t like storms…”

Didn’t like was maybe an understatement but Hiro wasn’t about to correct him.  Instead, he emerged from under his pillow only to try to delve as deep as possible under his covers, attempting to ignore the flashes that travelled through the covers and hit shut eyelids.  Maybe if he stopped responding then Tadashi would just think he’d gone to sleep….

Hiro felt a dip in the bed and his eyes snapped open.

“Hey!  Get off!”  His leg struck out and managed to connect with the small of Tadashi’s back, causing his brother to yelp in pain. 

“Look, you can’t sleep and I can’t sleep if I know you’re scared so just let me in and stop being a baby!”  Tadashi exclaimed, remaining on the bed despite Hiro’s constant stream of kicks. 

“Then stop treating me like one!”  Hiro retorted, now using his whole body to try and shove Tadashi off but to no avail. 

“There’s nothing wrong with being comforted.  I’m your big brother, it’s part of my duty!”

“I’m fine,” Hiro repeated for the umpteenth time though his resolve was fading.  Even with Tadashi only sitting on his bed, Hiro could feel the tension and fear slowly bleed from his body and he silently cursed his traitorous body.  Tadashi must have noticed because he inched closer, getting bolder when Hiro no longer fought him. 

“Move over,” his brother urged softly and with a huff, Hiro did, making sure he was facing away from Tadashi.  He’d just reached the edge of the bed when Tadashi slid in, the fit being a bit tighter than Hiro remembered it being.  Then again, the last time they had shared a bed had been over two years ago. 

Thunder boomed but this time the fear only lasted seconds as immediately as it sounded, Tadashi wrapped an arm around Hiro in a protective hold.  Hiro breathed out a relaxed sigh. 

“Just so you know,” Hiro said sleepily, “I’m only doing this so you can sleep.”

Tadashi let out a soft laugh, his breath tickling the tips of Hiro’s hair.  “Of course you are, now get some sleep Hiro.”

And Hiro did. 


	2. First Bot Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro attends his first bot fight.

To put it simply, Hiro was _bored_.   Sure, designing robots and planning new tech was fun and he couldn’t imagine doing anything else for the rest of his life, but Hiro was at a point where he wanted more.  The problem was, he wasn’t sure what he wanted more of, or how to get it.  It had been six months since Hiro had graduated high school and while at first the freedom of having whole days to let loose his imagination had been great, after six months of it, it had become less so.  Tadashi had tried to help, giving Hiro ideas for new projects and even suggesting Hiro tried for college (Ha, as if Hiro would ever consider ‘nerd school’), but it was hopeless.  Nothing could cure Hiro’s boredom.  

That was, until he walked past a battered flyer stuck to the ground.  Hiro had seen a few of them scattered along the sidewalk but hadn’t taken any notice of them till now.  He crouched down and inspected the dirty piece of paper. 

_‘Bot Fighting Competition.  10:00pm 13 th March.  45000 Yen entry fee for each battle.’_

The name immediately gained Hiro’s attention and he read the rest of the flyer avidly.  It was clear now why the flyers were all on the floor – bot fighting, or at least betting on it, was illegal and the location was not in the nicest part of the city.  But Hiro couldn’t deny he was interested.  Bot fighting…maybe _that_ was the stimulation he needed.  Something for his creations to do instead of them gathering dust in the garage.  Giving a quick look around, Hiro picked up the flyer and stuck it in his pocket.   He turned around and then headed back in the direction of home.  It was time to do some planning.

-

It was 9:50pm on March the 13th and Hiro couldn’t believe he had managed to get it to the competition, his own newly made robot tucked in hand.  He was still expecting a panicked call from either Aunt Cass or Tadashi, even though he had set up a pretty convincing hologram of himself at the computer in the garage as a precaution – programmed to give simple responses just in case. 

Hiro navigated his way through the crowds of people attending the competition.  The building hosting the tournament was barely more than an abandoned warehouse, but it was big and Hiro figured that’s all they really needed.  Hiro felt extremely out of place among all the much bigger, scary looking adults, but thankfully no one stopped him or tried to get him around.  He was just checking out some of the other bots the participants had when a voice rang out over a megaphone.

“Competitors!  We will have four matches going on at once in each corner of the room.  Please divide yourselves and prepare for battle!”

People immediately began to split up and Hiro went to the corner occupied by the least amount of people.  Hiro was not a fan of crowds on the best of days, let alone when he was committing his first semi-illegal act.  Even so, with the fear, Hiro was excited.  Time to test his creation properly.  

Hiro wasn’t the first of his group to fight but he was glad about that as it gave him a good opportunity to see what sort of stuff he’d be facing.  Since he was too small to see over people’s heads, he’d taken to kneeling down and peering through their legs to see the match.  What he saw gave him hope. 

While the competitor’s bots were by no means mediocre, Hiro was confident that his own bot, still in the prototype stage, would wreck them.  He watched with fascination as one of the bots was crashed under the weight of the hammer that had protruded from the other one.  The match was declared finished and another set of opponents took their place.

This pattern continued until Hiro finally made his way to the front of the group, trembling slightly as he held his well saved money out to the referee.  She gave him a disbelieving stare but accepted his money.  Hiro took a spot on one side of the ring and his challenger sat opposite him.  He was a weedy looking man and his bot, as if matching its creator, was also thin and wiry with wheels along the bottom.  It didn’t look that threatening and Hiro had a feeling that they were both considered the weakest of the group.  He looked nervous, until another member of the group clapped him on the shoulder muttering ‘You can do it Nao’.  The act made Hiro sombre slightly, wishing he had Tadashi with him to cheer him on.  Then again, Tadashi would not approve if he knew what his little brother was doing.

“Competitors, prepare your bots.” 

Hiro took a deep breath and switched the on button on his control for his robot.  The small box Hiro had made his bot form into for carrying purposes started to expand until it his bot was fully stretched out, reaching a height of two feet with its limbs contracted in a fighting stance.  Like Nao’s, his bot also didn’t look like much, especially with the face Hiro had crudely drawn on with white marker, but Hiro had made a point of that.  If Hiro’s bot looked weak then his competitor would get cocky and assume an easy win.  That would make it all the easier for Hiro to beat them. 

With the match about to start, Hiro felt his palms get sweaty and his heart pounded wildly.  Attempting to calm himself, Hiro took a deep breath and the referee shouted out “Begin!”

The action started immediately, with Nao sending his bot whirling forward, arms waving as they morphed into scythes.  Hiro was instantly on the defensive, his own bot holding up its reinforced arms in defence as it dodged the blades.  Nao, getting bolder with every second, smiled and pressed a button.  Two more sharpened arms protruded from the bots body, these ones with more reach than the original pair.  Getting close to the edge of the ring, Hiro made his bot jump and land back in the centre.  Looked like Nao had taken the ‘look weak, beat the crap out of shocked opponent’ approach too.  That was ok, Hiro told himself, he just had to readjust his tactic.

The scythes continued to fly around and an idea formed in Hiro’s mind when he realised they must have a tracking device in them.  That was the only explanation for how precisely they followed Hiro’s bots movements.  Maybe, just maybe, he could use that against Nao. 

Implementing his new plan straightaway, Hiro adjusted his control so that his bot jumped and when the scythes were in the air, dived under them.  The blades followed and Hiro was pleased when one of the arms caught another, slicing right through it and falling to the floor with a thud.  Hiro quickly repeated the same manoeuvre and like before, another arm fell off and a grin bloomed on Hiro’s face.  A light sheen of sweat had appeared on Nao’s face as he tried to gain control of his bot’s weapons.  Clearly they weren’t designed well enough as he couldn’t and Hiro managed to get rid of the second to last arm, leaving the bot defenceless apart from its one remaining arm. 

“Got him,” Hiro muttered with glee, pushing a switch that caused thin, razor sharp, to spin out of his bots arms towards its opponent, slicing through the metal with ease before returning back to his bot like a deadly metallic boomerang.  Nao’s bot fell to pieces and Hiro cheered when the match was ended.  

“Good job kid,” the referee said, handing Hiro his winnings and the young teen couldn’t keep the smile on his face. 

Until he felt a hand on his shoulder, and Hiro recognised it as Tadashi’s.  He froze, and gulped. 

“You.  Are.  So.  Dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I picture Hiro’s first fighting bot being similar to structure as the one in the film but much bigger and not as strong. Tell me what you think and also if you have any ideas for other one-shots!


	3. First Bot Fight 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadashi's reaction to Hiro's first bot fight.

“Come on Tadashi!” Hiro whined as he stumbled out of the building, Tadashi’s hand propelling him forward.  His brother ignored him, pointed towards his motorbike. 

“Get on,” he ordered, handing Hiro a helmet because no matter how angry his brother was; _safety came first_.

“Tadashi, I-”

“On Hiro.  We will discuss this at home.”

Hiro swallowed and nodded.  He put on the helmet and just before mounting the bike, pushed the button on his bot so it reverted to its cube form.  Under the helmet, Hiro took a peek at Tadashi and couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed when he saw visible reaction towards his bot.  It made Hiro wonder the last time he’d seen Tadashi this mad.  Probably a couple of years ago when he’d confronted the bullies who had been tormenting Hiro. 

The ride home was spent in stony silence and under his palms Hiro could feel how tense Tadashi was.  They reached the café and Tadashi directed Hiro to their room.  Thankfully, Aunt Cass was nowhere to be seen which probably meant that she had no clue where Hiro had been.  Hopefully that was how it would remain. 

The door to their room shut with a soft slam and the vow of silence Tadashi had adopted was broken. 

“What, exactly, were you thinking?”  He hissed. 

Giving a weak grin, Hiro replied.  “You’re uh, gonna have to be more specific as I think a lot of things; brain going a mile a minute and all that-”

“No games Hiro!”  Tadashi interrupted.  “You know exactly what I’m talking about.  Don’t you know bot fighting is illegal?!”

“Technically it’s only really betting on it that’s illegal, fighting is just…”

“Do you know how worried I was when I saw you weren’t in your room and that it was a hologram in the garage?”  Tadashi asked, trying a different approach. 

Hiro chose to remain silent.

“No, of course you wouldn’t,” Tadashi mumbled and Hiro wasn’t sure if he was supposed to have heard that. Louder, Tadashi continued. “Hiro, you have to understand that what you did was dangerous.  What if you’d got hurt, or worse?  Aunt Cass would have had no idea and I might not have been able to get there in time.  You were in a room full of dangerous bots and adults who clearly have little regard to the law.  What if one of them hadn’t been happy about being beaten by a kid and taken it out on you?”

A spark of rage ignited inside Hiro.  “I can handle myself Tadashi!  I don’t need you coming to rescue me like I’m some kind of damsel in distress!” 

“No, but you are my brother and I need to keep you safe!”  Tadashi threw his hat off his head and gripped his hair in his frustration.  “I know you hate being treated like a kid but the fact is you are one and you can’t honestly tell me that you think you could take on someone twice your size!”

“My bot could…”

“What if they broke your bot?  The point is Hiro is that something seriously bad could have happened.  Do you at least understand that?”

Pouting and refusing to look at Tadashi, Hiro nodded slowly.    

“I was bored and it was fun.”

Tadashi sighed. 

“Couldn’t you have found something more legal to do?”  He asked tiredly.

Hiro shrugged.  “So let me guess, you’re gonna confiscate my bot and tell me never to go bot fighting again?”   

There was a heartbeat of silence.  “I get the feeling even if I said yes you’d still go back.  I saw enough of the fight to see the look on your face Hiro.  This isn’t something you’re going to give up without a fight, is it?” 

The tone of resignation in Tadashi’s voice caused hope to build in Hiro. 

“What, does this mean you’re going to let me do it again?”  Hiro asked, a grin forming. 

“On certain conditions,” Tadashi replied and before he could continue, Hiro let out a whoop of joy, forgetting Aunt Cass was sleeping.  Fortunately, there was no noise indicating he’d woken her. 

“Hold up buddy, you haven’t heard them yet.  I’ll need some time to come up with them and you have to make sure you stick to them if you want to continue fighting.  Deal?”

Though he rolled his eyes, Hiro nodded.  He couldn’t believe Tadashi was giving him the ok to fight!  Hopefully the conditions wouldn’t be too restricting.  Well, Hiro didn’t always have to follow them completely if they were. 

Without warning, Hiro was suddenly brought into a hug.  “Thanks Hiro.  I’m only doing this to make sure you stay safe.”  Still slightly surprised, Tadashi let go of him and ruffled his hair. 

“Now get to bed knucklehead, we can discuss the conditions tomorrow.”  Tadashi began making his way to his bed but then stopped and turned his head around.  “Oh, and Hiro, that was a pretty impressive bot I saw you fighting with.  Nice job.”

Somehow, with everything that had happened that evening, it was those words that brought the biggest smile to Hiro’s face. 

 

 


	4. Explosive Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the week since the fire at SIT had occurred, Hiro had suffered four nightmares. Alive!Tadashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I seem to need to write a nightmare fic for every fandom I write for.

During the week since the fire at SIT had occurred, Hiro had suffered four nightmares.  Each one was the same – that Hiro hadn’t been able to stop Tadashi in time; that his brother ran inside just as the explosion erupted in the building.  Normally he would wake up and control the panic before he woke Tadashi but it appeared this night was different.  Instead of rousing just as the explosion occurred, he was trapped in the aftermath, the feeling of loss and grief encompassing him.  Dream-Hiro crumpled to the ground as the thought ‘ _Tadashi is dead’_ kept running through his head.  His brother, his nii-chan, was gone.  He and Aunt Cass were now the only ones left. 

“Hiro!”

Hiro was only barely aware of a voice calling him, a voice that sounded like Tadashi’s but that wasn’t possible because Tadashi was dead…

“Hiro!”

Hiro woke with a start and he grabbed onto the first thing in front of him, not even recognising what it was, before sobs wracked his body.

Tadashi was dead…he was gone…

“Hiro?” 

The sobs paused briefly as Hiro comprehended the voice and the clutches of the nightmare loosened.  It sounded like Tadashi, which meant…

“You’re alive,” Hiro breathed, the tension running out of his body though tears continued to stream down his face.    Hiro felt, more than heard, Tadashi’s breath hitch slightly at the arms that surrounded him tightened.

“Of course I’m alive bonehead,” he replied softly.  “Was that what your dream was about, that I died in the fire?” 

Hiro nodded against Tadashi’s chest.  Even though part of him felt too old to be cuddled by his older brother, he couldn’t deny that he needed it after the nightmare he’d had. 

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that.  I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

A fear that had  been residing in Hiro since the incident rose to the surface.  “…What if you do?”

“What do you mean?”  Tadashi asked. 

“What if something like this happens again but I can’t stop you in time!”  Hiro replied, tone becoming slightly hysterical as his heart rate quickened. 

“Hey now Hiro, calm down.  Come on, just breath.  In…out…there you go.  Now, I can’t promise nothing will happen to me, I don’t think anyone can make that sort of promise.  What I can promise is that I’ll be more careful.  I guess running into a burning building was kind of stupid, huh?”

“Try mega stupid,” Hiro hiccupped.  Thanks to Tadashi his breathing had slowed once more and with his body relaxing, sleepiness had begun to return.  He was loathe to give into it though, what if he had the nightmare?

Tadashi gave a quiet chuckle.  “Yeah, it was mega stupid.  Anyway, you feeling better little bro?”

Hiro nodded but his grip on Tadashi didn’t loosen; something his older brother noticed. 

“How about I stay in here tonight?” 

Hiro didn’t even have it in him to protest as he usually would, showing how terrified the dream had made him.  Instead of answering, Hiro just nodded again and moved over to the side of the bed, providing room for Tadashi to squish in beside him.  His brother’s arms remained encased around him as Tadashi slid under the covers.  The fit was not as tight as it usually would be as instead of trying to keep his distance, Hiro kept as close to Tadashi as possible, finding comfort in the warmth his brother offered.  He was already half asleep when he mumbled a ‘Night’ to Tadashi and by the time Tadashi replied Hiro was snoring softly, safe within his brother’s embrace. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, feel free to leave prompts as my muse for this seems to have disappeared.


	5. Like Aliens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro and Tadashi's first night at Aunt Cass' after the death of their parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly wasn’t sure if I would continue this but I was looking through my stories and this idea just suddenly popped in my head so I had to write it. I hope you enjoy it.

Possibly the most heart-breaking thing about everything is that a week after the accident, Hiro still asks when mom and dad are coming back.  Tadashi has tried explaining that they can’t, as has Aunt Cass, but with both of them trying to avoid the word dead it’s difficult.  Tadashi himself can barely understand that they’re gone forever.  Eventually, they’ll probably have to be blunt with the truth, since it’s the only way Hiro’s incredible 3 year old brain will understand it, but if he can prolong the wait then he will. 

He still doesn’t understand how one moment his parents were going out to celebrate their anniversary, and the next policemen were coming to his door, saying there’d been an accident and his parents hadn’t made it.  He’d been angry at first, so very, very angry.  He demanded to know what had happened, why it had happened and who had done it, but as people kept telling him – it was nobody’s fault, not really.  It was just one of those freak incidents that had left him and his brother orphans. 

The following week had been a blur spent preparing the funeral, having the funeral and sorting out the move from their home to Aunt Cass’.  Aunt Cass had tried to let them take as much as possible but the fact was, she didn’t have the room and her business was her home so that removed the option of Aunt Cass moving in with them.  He and Hiro would now have to share a room but honestly, Tadashi didn’t mind.  With his parents now dead and gone, Tadashi couldn’t help but fear something was just waiting to take Hiro away from him too.  

“Welcome to your new home,” Aunt Cass announces, faux cheerfully, as they step through the door to the Lucky Cat Café.  Tadashi had visited here loads of times but right now all he could think was how wrong the place was.  It wasn’t their home. 

“Wanna go home,” Hiro sniffles on Aunt Cass’ shoulder, echoing Tadashi’s wishes.  After realising they wouldn’t be returning, his brother had cried throughout the whole car journey. 

Aunt Cass’ face droops and she brushes a hand through Hiro’s hair.  “I’m sorry sweetie, but you have to stay here…do you want to see your new room?”

Despite Hiro shaking his head, Aunt Cass leads them up the stairs.  The room isn’t too small, not really, but Tadashi can bet when they’re older they’ll notice the restricted space.  For now though, it’s fine.  He’ll be able to keep a close eye on Hiro at the very least.

“Now, this’ll be your bed Hiro,” Aunt Cass says, showing Hiro his side of the bedroom.  Tadashi places his own rucksack on the bed as he sits down, bouncing slightly on the worn springs.  He could have kept his old bed but he’d ultimately decided it would be too much hassle to move and a lot of stuff needed to be sold.  Aunt Cass needed the money. 

“Do you guys want anything to eat or drink?”  She asks after depositing a sullen Hiro on his new bed.  Currently his brother was burrowing his way under the sheets.

“No thanks Aunt Cass.”  In order to give them as much time in their old house as possible, Aunt Cass hadn’t finished the move until after they’d had one final dinner there so he wasn’t hungry and he didn’t think Hiro would be in the mood to eat anything.  He’d get him something later if he wanted it.

“Alright then.”  Aunt Cass bites her lip, clearly unsure what to do, so Tadashi takes pity on her.

“In fact, I’m kinda tired.  I think Hiro is too.  We’ll just have an early night.”

Tadashi doesn’t miss the glimpse of relief that crosses Aunt Cass’ face.  She’s always been the fun Aunt, not the responsible caregiver, so he knows this is a learning curve for her.  In a way, she has to grow up like Tadashi’s done.

“Okay.  Just shout if you need anything, anything at all.”  Aunt Cass leaves them too it, knowing Tadashi can get Hiro ready for bed as he’s demanded to do the past week, and it’s then that his brother’s head pops up from under the duvet. 

“’Dashi?”  He calls weakly and Tadashi’s instantly on his way over. 

“Yeah Hiro?” He asks, perching on the bed beside Hiro’s head.  

“Wanna go back now.” 

Tadashi sighs.  “We can’t Hiro, you know that.  We live here now, with Aunt Cass.”

“Wanna go back!” Hiro shouts, hiccupping on a sob that tears Tadashi apart.  He’d do anything to give Hiro what he wants but he can’t.  You can’t reverse death.  He’s already thought about it.

“C’mere.”  Tadashi bundles Hiro up in the blanket and settles him on his lap.  His brother’s thumb is stuck in his mouth as he stares at Tadashi with tear-filled eyes.  Under normal circumstances, Tadashi would remove the thumb but right now he was willing to let his brother take comfort wherever he found it.

“We’ll  be okay here Hiro,” he reassures.  One day, his brother wouldn’t even remember this clearly; though he isn’t sure whether that’s a good or bad thing.  “Aunt Cass loves us.  She’ll look after us.”

 “Want mum and dad,” Hiro repeats.

“I know,” Tadashi sighs.  “But you know what?  They might not be here with us, but they’re still watching over us.  You see the stars?”  Tadashi carries Hiro over to the window and points to the stars beginning to appear in the blackening sky.  “They’re right out there somewhere.”

“Can’t see them,” Hiro frowns, pushing against Tadashi’s chest to get closer to the window.  “Need a microscope.”

With a quiet laugh, Tadashi replies, “They’re too far away for even microscopes to find, but they’re there.”

“I’ll build one,” Hiro decides resolutely, already scrambling out of Tadashi’s hold, most likely already attempting to find parts for his latest idea.  Tadashi takes his hand before he can get too excited.

“No, Hiro, not even one you build will be able to reach them.  This is more of a faith thing.  You have to believe they’re out there even if you can’t see them.”

Hiro’s forehead creased.  “…Like aliens?”

“Um, sort of.”

“But I want them here, not with the aliens.”

Tadashi brings Hiro back to his bed, settling his brother so he’s lying under the covers.

“I know Hiro.  I do too and I bet they want to be herewith us.  They just can’t.”

“But _why_?”

It’s the why Tadashi and Aunt Cass had been trying to avoid.  Hiro has a vague grasp on the concept of death and knows saying the word dead would just upset his brother.  It would make him understand but Tadashi wouldn’t be able to deal with the anguish that would follow without breaking down himself. 

“You know when they went out for dinner?” Hiro nods.  “Something happened to them which means they can’t come back, no matter how much they try.  They had to go to a place called Heaven.  They’re okay there, they just can’t be with us.” 

“Can’t we visit?”

Tadashi runs a hand along Hiro’s back, soothing his already sleepy little brother.  “Not quite yet Hiro,” he whispers and begins to hum a lullaby their mother used to sing for Hiro.  He would sing it, except Tadashi had an awful voice so he settles for simply humming and it does the trick.  Slowly but surely Hiro’s breathing begins to even out as he succumbs to his tiredness.  Tadashi continues to hum long after Hiro falls asleep and rather than return to his own bed, decides that just for tonight, he’ll stay with Hiro.  After all, his brother might need him during the night and from now on, Tadashi was going to make sure nothing happened to his little brother.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudos or a comment if you liked it! If you want to chat/leave prompts or anything I am Sambiewisegamgee on tumblr.


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